"Say to Me, Where Have You Been?": The Pixies Roar Back After 12 Years
 
17 April 2004: Prairieland Park - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Nothing was more surprising than when the Pixies announced in September of 2003 that they were getting back together for the first time since their highly acrimonious break-up in 1992. After all, this was one band reunion we thought we'd never see; hey, if you got a fax saying you were fired, wouldn't you be just a little bit ticked off? The announcement was met with a rather jaded reaction by critics and indie rock fans, as many people expected the reunion to implode within months. That said, over the past decade, the Pixies have become far more popular than they were in their heyday, a fact driven home by the unprecedented demand for tickets when the band announced their spring "warm up" tour, as every show sold out quickly, many in mere minutes. But would the band even last that long before getting at each other's throats again? A band years ahead of its time, the Pixies foreshadowed the early '90s alternative rock explosion with their classic albums, 1988's Surfer Rosa and the 1989 masterpiece Doolittle. With singer/guitarist Black Francis's powerful vocals that ranged from a whisper to a full-on scream, his enigmatic lyrics which ranged from topics like Salvador Dali to UFOs, the hip Kim Deal's melodic bass lines and her charming voice, and Joey Santiago's cool, seemingly effortless guitar leads, this was a band whose music was as accessible as it was adventurous. By now, everyone knows how big a Pixies fan Kurt Cobain was, and as he went on to attempt to write his own version of a Pixies tune ("Smells Like Teen Spirit") and work with a Pixies producer (Steve Albini, the man behind the booming, grating sounds of Surfer Rosa), the Pixies themselves still struggled for mainstream recognition. After two more tragically underrated albums (1990's Bossanova and 1991's Trompe le Monde), and with increasing friction among the band members, Francis called it a day with his infamous announcement in 1992.
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